


...Only Stars

by thewickedkat



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/F, Fluff and Smut, Greek and Roman Mythology - Freeform, Oral Sex, Sex and Mythology, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-21
Updated: 2017-11-21
Packaged: 2019-02-04 22:13:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12780678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewickedkat/pseuds/thewickedkat
Summary: Radley and Ruiz get away from the Prydwen for some personal time; Ruiz tells stories, Radley tries to see constellations, and there's some sex.





	...Only Stars

**Author's Note:**

  * For [stitchcasual](https://archiveofourown.org/users/stitchcasual/gifts), [ghostofshe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostofshe/gifts), [beetle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/beetle/gifts), [hotot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hotot/gifts).



> Radley and Ruiz are also found in my story 'Liminal,' but it's not really terribly necessary to have read that one for this one to make sense.

‘Look, up there,’ and Ruiz’s long index finger--still elegant despite the dirt around the cuticles--traces a line between stars, sketches an invisible shape against the night sky. ‘That’s Ursa Major, the Great Bear.’

Radley squints, but she’s never been good at seeing patterns in the seemingly random jumble of twinkling lights. ‘What the hell’s a bear? Or an ursa?’

Ruiz huffs a laugh, breath warm against Radley’s neck, and curls closer. ‘ _ Ursa _ means bear, Lis. It’s like a yao guai.’

‘How the hell did a yao guai get up there?’

‘A god put it there,’ Ruiz says blithely, like it should be obvious, a thing everyone knows already. ‘But it was once a woman.’

Radley snorts. ‘You’re making this up, Noemi,’ she says fondly, and feels Ruiz smile against her skin. ‘Show me another one.’ Radley doesn’t care much about the constellations Ruiz insists are up there--seems a bunch of old-world fairy tales, to her--but the thing that matters is  _ Ruiz _ cares, finds the stories behind each one fascinating, little tiny jewels of stories that are thousands of years old, tales and words hoarded over the generations the way the Brotherhood hoards tech and  _ things _ .

Ruiz points again, draws some incomprehensible rune. ‘Andromeda, the Chained Woman.’

‘Huh. Why’s she chained?’ Radley can  _ almost _ see it, the shape of a figure on a rock, and strokes her fingers through Ruiz’s hair.

‘She was punished for being beautiful,’ Ruiz murmurs, and lowers her arm to wrap it over Radley’s waist. ‘Her mother, a vain queen, boasted of Andromeda’s beauty, said it was greater than Aphrodite’s, the goddess of love. So Aphrodite took revenge upon the queen by demanding her daughter as a sacrifice to a sea monster.’ Her hand slides just under the hem of Radley’s shirt, fingers slotting between the slight bumps of Radley’s ribcage.

‘Why didn’t the goddess just punish the queen, then?’ Radley presses her mouth to Ruiz’s forehead, lips whispering against the hairline. ‘Why the daughter?’

‘Love isn’t rational, Lis. The goddess was easily offended, quick to anger, slow to forgive.’ Ruiz’s musical voice is lilting in the quiet, taking on the storytelling cadence Radley loves and seldom gets to hear. ‘Love does crazy things when angry. So Aphrodite demanded that which the queen loved most.’ Ruiz wriggles her torso halfway onto Radley’s and nestles her head into the hollow of a shoulder. ‘Andromeda was chained to a rock to be consumed by Cetus, the Whale of the Deeps, and the queen could do nothing to stop it.’

‘She could’ve, I dunno, maybe  _ not _ insulted a goddess,’ Radley says thoughtfully, eyes tracking the slow, ponderous progression of the stars.

‘That might have helped, but then there’d be no lesson,’ Ruiz replies, and kisses Radley’s collarbone softly. ‘Andromeda was saved by the hero Perseus, who flew the winged horse Pegasus--’

‘What’s a horse?’

‘ _ Lis. _ ’ Ruiz scratches lightly at Radley’s ribs, making her squirm. ‘Perseus saved Andromeda, and out of gratitude, they allowed Andromeda to marry him instead of her uncle.’

‘Gross,’ Radley mutters, and Ruiz tickles her again, chuckling.

‘Andromeda was set into the heavens by Athena, the goddess of wisdom, to remind mortals of the danger of pride, how tactlessness can hurt those closest to us, how we should choose our words with care.’

Radley hums. ‘What happened to the queen?’

Ruiz points, tracing a short line that connects a small number of dim stars. ‘Casseiopeia, the Bound Queen. It’s said that she can never move from her throne, condemned to stare at her helpless daughter, and for six months out of the year she appears upside-down, to punish her for her boasting.’

Radley stares where Ruiz indicated, but still can’t discern any order to the chaos. It’s  _ pretty _ , and  _ interesting _ , but if she looks too long she feels small and insignificant, a single tiny organism that could just fly out into infinity. Flailing against the black, the cold, the vasty nothingness of space, no Noemi to tether her to the ground and hold her. 

She shivers at the thought.

‘Ooh,’ Ruiz breathes into her neck, and squeezes Radley excitedly. ‘ _ Look _ , Lis--shooting stars!’ A little streak of light darts across the sky, sporadic and short-lived, a brief life flaring and burning out in the atmosphere. Another paints a white dash nearer the horizon, tail disappearing almost the instant Radley notices it.

‘Make a wish,’ Ruiz whispers into the skin beneath Radley’s ear, and her tongue swirls lightly around the lobe.

‘Don’t need to,’ Radley says quietly, not thinking, not choosing her words with care, but it’s not pride that gives them weight. She buries her face in Ruiz’s hair, inhaling the reassuring scent of book dust, solder and flux, the warmth of Noemi’s skin.

* * *

 

The next day McInnes takes them southward, chattering aimlessly as they walk, the air humid and stagnant and promising rain. Ruiz peppers her with questions and Radley scratches irritably at the stubble on the nape of her neck. They poke through the detritus in Suffolk County Charter School, Ruiz eyeing the too-pink ghoul corpses uneasily.

‘Don’t worry, they’re all dead,’ McInnes assures her, dumping water-warped books onto an old table and wrinkling her nose at the musty odour they give off.

‘Yes ma’am,’ Ruiz says dubiously, and gives the corpse a wide berth.

McInnes pulls a face and unzips her fatigues to the waist, tying the sleeves at her back and tucking a sidearm into the excess fabric. ‘ _ Vee _ , Ruiz, not  _ ma’am. _ We’ve talked about this.’

Ruiz nods instead of answering, and starts paging through the pile for anything useful.

Radley wanders around the perimeter of the once-library, absently kicking a bit of still-glowing ghoulflesh out of her way, lets her hand trail along the edges of the shelves. Most of the books are beyond saving, their pages long gone, torn out for kindling or toilet paper or simply rotted into nothingness. The salvageable ones are almost useless--civics, rhetoric, botany that is now extinct--but she finds a few prospects. She glances over at McInnes and Ruiz and slides an only-slightly-damaged volume into her pack before joining them.

Later, they slog through swamp and marsh to Murkwater, a settlement McInnes built on a tiny hillock of land in the middle of fucking  _ nowhere _ , an ancient earthmover standing sentinel over mutfruit trees like a disapproving parent.

‘Don’t worry, we’re only staying for one night,’ McInnes says sourly as she yanks off her boots and wrings out a sock. ‘I hate this place.'

‘Then why build here?’ Radley mutters unthinkingly, then feels heat flood her face. ‘Uh--I mean--’

McInnes flaps a hand at her. ‘No, it’s a fair question. It was suggested to me a while back, but fuck if I know  _ why. _ ’ She scoots closer to the fire, splaying her toes and wriggling them. Radley feels Ruiz’s arms encircle her from behind, the warm press of her breasts, her hands curling into Radley’s own broad palms. She leans back a bit, humming unconsciously at Ruiz’s mouth just touching her neck in a not-quite kiss.

McInnes watches them, her half-smile shadowed and somehow sad.

The humidity in the air gives birth to a storm overnight, the rain loud on the metal roof of the shack, and Radley swallows Ruiz’s breath when she begs.

‘Lis, fuck,  _ Lis _ ,’ and she pulls at Radley’s shoulders, mouth sloppily painting a line of fire up Radley’s neck, and Radley only grins down at her, teeth flashing white in the lightning before she bites Ruiz’s lower lip. The fingers buried in Ruiz still, start to withdraw, and Ruiz whines, ‘ _ please _ .’

‘I gotcha,’ Radley murmurs throatily, licking into Ruiz’s mouth languid and deep, slipping another finger into Ruiz’s overhot flesh. She lets her thumb glide over Ruiz’s clit tantalisingly, bearing down with excruciating slowness and purring when Ruiz moans helplessly. ‘Come on, baby.’ She lets her tongue slide over Ruiz’s teeth, sucks at her lip again.

Ruiz goes rigid, whimpering into Radley’s mouth, nails scrabbling down her back and hips jerking.

‘Good, so good,’ Radley whispers, curling her fingers and letting Ruiz ride the aftershock. She cups Ruiz’s face with her free hand, thumbing away the moisture at the corner of her eye. Ruiz pants, but the sound is lost in the rain.

* * *

 

It’s their second night at Jamaica Plain and they’ve dragged their sleeping bags out into what was once the little park, the fragrance of hubflowers heady and sweet. A nearby turret whirs monotonously.

They strip off their fatigues and shimmy down into one bag, giggling the whole time, stealing kisses and Ruiz pretending to squirm away from Radley’s ticking hands. Radley pulls the spare sleeping bag into place so they can lay their heads on it. The sky overhead is clear and deep, spangled with diamonds, and Radley sighs happily when Ruiz’s hand slides beneath her shirt to cup a breast. They kiss lazily, hands roaming and tongues gliding, and the noise makes Radley flush, makes her blood sing and her heart feel too big for her chest.

‘Love you,’ she whispers, sliding her mouth along Ruiz’s jaw. ‘So much, Noemi.’

‘Love you more, Lis,’ and Ruiz kisses her so sweetly she thinks she’ll cry. ‘Here,’ and she crowds close, wriggling around so her head is cradled on Radley’s sternum. Radley hums contentedly, arranging her arms around Ruiz, who presses a kiss to the swell of Radley’s breast through her shirt.

‘Look up,’ Ruiz says, and points to the sky. ‘There,’ and draws a sigil between stars, ‘the Corona Borealis. The Crown of Ariadne.’

‘Was she a princess, like Andromeda?’ Radley plays along, more to hear the pleasant tonal hum of Ruiz’s voice than anything.

‘Some say that. Others say she was a priestess, versed in the mystic arts. There was a great labyrinth beneath her city, home to a monster called the Minotaur. Half-man, half-bull--and before you ask, a bull was like a brahmin, but only one head.’

‘Which half was the bull?’

‘The head. Now listen.’  Ruiz drags her fingers down Radley’s side. ‘Every year, people went into the Great Labyrinth to challenge the Minotaur, but no one ever came out. Until one year, Theseus came to test his wits. However, even he got lost in the winding maze, and Ariadne took pity on him.’

Radley toys idly with the hem of Ruiz’s shirt, appreciating the minute shiver of Ruiz’s belly beneath. ‘What did she do?’

Ruiz hums at Radley’s breath across her neck, skids her fingertips lightly along the edge of Radley’s briefs. ‘Ariadne gave Theseus a ball of twine.  _ Let the twine spool behind you in the labyrinth, _ she told him,  _ and you will find the centre without losing yourself along the way. _ So Theseus did as she told him, and slew the Minotaur deep beneath the city, the bones of his predecessors all around him in the monster’s lair.’

‘Lovely,’ Radley mutters, and inhales sharply when Ruiz’s hand gently cups her pubis, one finger stroking almost absently at the cotton. Warmth gathers low in her belly, and she moans quietly when Ruiz breathes purposefully over the breast her head is resting on.

‘Theseus followed the twine out of the labyrinth and Ariadne was given to him as a prize for finally slaying the beast that had claimed so many young lives over the years,’ Ruiz continues, her lips murmuring the words through the thin fabric of Radley’s shirt, ‘and she left with Theseus to live with him in Athens.’

‘But the crown,’ Radley says, her hips rolling unconsciously with the stroking of Ruiz’s finger, and she bites the inside of her cheek when the pressure increases only slightly. ‘How’d it--it--’ she loses her train of thought briefly when Ruiz bears down just over her clit. ‘Noemi,’ she almost-whines, the warmth coalescing into the sweetest of aches.

‘Focus,’ Ruiz whispers, and tongues at Radley’s nipple through the shirt.

Radley wants to laugh, wants to rock her hips upward and be rewarded with Noemi’s skilled fingers sliding past the cotton of her underwear and touching her properly, wants to pull Noemi’s face up to her own and devour her mouth, but that’s not part of this little game Ruiz likes to play.

‘Please,’ she whispers instead, and feels Ruiz smile.

‘Good,’ Ruiz breathes, and her fingers resume stroking. ‘But all was not to be happy for Ariadne and Theseus. On the return voyage to Athens their brief love turned sour, the way wine will turn to vinegar when it is forgotten about. Theseus left Ariadne alone, her belly full of his child, and cursed him as he sailed away.’

‘Oh,’ Radley says on a sigh, her heart twisting a bit for Ariadne even as Ruiz’s hand slips past the fabric and finds Radley already wet and hot, so hot, and Noemi’s fingers are so clever, dipping down into Radley’s heat, slicking up and tracing constellations over her flesh.

‘Ariadne stayed there, alone and mourning, perhaps a princess forgotten by her people, perhaps a priestess forsaken by her gods. But one god did hear her weeping, the god Dionysus.’ Ruiz slides two fingers inside Radley slowly, and skims the edge of her teeth over Radley’s breast. Radley whimpers and arches into the contact, the feedback loop of pleasure building at a maddeningly lazy pace.

Ruiz chuckles quietly, a self-satisfied sort of noise. ‘Dionysus was the god of merriment and pleasure,’ she goes on, punctuating her words with a flick of her fingers over Radley’s clit.

‘I bet,’ Radley grits out, and closes her eyes as sweat prickles over her skin.

‘Dionysus came to Ariadne on that forgotten isle, after she had given birth to a dark-haired daughter she called Phaedre. He said,  _ The victory over the Minotaur is not Theseus’ to claim, but yours, for he would not have slain the monster without you. _ ’ Ruiz’s fingers work more steadily, less teasing and more determined, and Radley stutters out a groan when the pleasure spikes. ‘And so he fashioned her a crown and set it into the heavens so that she would always be remembered.’

Ruiz’s teeth close more firmly around Radley’s nipple and Radley’s hips jerk in response. ‘Open your eyes, Lis,’ Noemi urges, ‘look up. You see it?’ Her fingers coax wonders out of Radley, tug her toward the edge unerringly, and Radley’s eyes fly open, Ruiz pressed against her and rocking with her, and as she comes she can’t tell where the stars in the sky end and begin in her vision.

* * *

 

‘So where did the Minotaur come from?’ Radley asks later, after both of them have abandoned all their clothing and opened up the sleeping bag, their skin pleasantly tacky and sweatfucked. Ruiz traces the outline of an already purpling mark on Radley’s hipbone.

‘Pasiphae,’ she replies. ‘I’m sorry, this is probably going to bruise, Lis.’

‘I don’t care, baby. Who was Pas-Passa-’

‘Pasiphae,’ Ruiz enunciates, and Radley repeats the name, tasting the unfamiliar cadence. ‘She was the queen of Minos, the island where the labyrinth was.’

‘What, the city was so goddam amazing it had its own labyrinth? Old-world people were  _ weird. _ ’

Ruiz laughs, and even after years together it still floods Radley with a sort of joy to know  _ she _ did that,  _ she _ made Noemi Ruiz laugh, warm and musical and lovely, the sound lifting off and floating into the wasteland night.

‘No, silly, the labyrinth was built to house the Minotaur. See, Queen Pasiphae was married to Minos, the ruler of the land--’

‘Named after himself, how  _ original _ ,’ Radley interrupts, and blows a raspberry.

‘ _ Callate, _ ’ Ruiz says, and swats her affectionately on the shoulder. Radley snickers before pressing a kiss to Ruiz’s hair. ‘ _ Any _ way, Pasiphae was married to King Minos, but became enamored of a pristine white bull in the livestock pens. She tried to keep her desire to herself, but--’

‘Oh,  _ eww _ ,’ Radley shudders, and Ruiz pinches her side gently.

‘Do you want to hear the story or not?’ Radley nods, and Ruiz goes on, ‘But Pasiphae knew she could not bear to live out her days without knowing what the magnificent creature felt like, inside her and over her, all that weight and danger and her at its mercy.’

‘Huh,’ Radley says thoughtfully. ‘Weird,’ and Ruiz pulls herself up and over Radley, straddling her waist and staring down at her.

‘Imagine it, Lis. All that weight, that... _ potential _ ,’ and Ruiz rocks her swollen self over the rise of Radley’s pubic bone. Radley feels the moisture of their earlier lovemaking glide over her skin and lets her pelvis roll and crest in reply. ‘All that  _ power _ ,’ and Ruiz gathers Radley’s hands, pinning them in place over her head. It’s an easy lock to break, just a twist down and against Ruiz’s thumbs, but Radley grins up at Noemi instead, cocking her chin in a  _ so? _ gesture.

‘I can imagine,’ she says pertly, and Ruiz raises an eyebrow in reply.

‘So Pasiphae enlisted the assistance of the master architect Daedalus to build her a contraption,’ Ruiz continues, rolling her pubis against Radley’s, pressing her thumbs to the inside of Radley’s wrists in silent admonishment. It’s not a promise, more of a suggestion, and Radley’s smile widens. ‘He built her a device that she could climb into, one that made her to seem like a comely cow, so that the white bull would rut with her and never know that it was--’

‘Fucking a woman?’ Radley arches and captures Noemi’s mouth with her own, licking deep into Ruiz’s mouth. She lets her tongue glide along Ruiz’s, taking her time and tasting, letting the lazy wet noise drown out the whirring of the nearby turret. Ruiz hums low in the back of her throat, releases Radley’s wrists and strokes down the inside of her arms teasingly. Radley’s skin pimples with gooseflesh as Ruiz’s fingers glide over collarbone, lower to Radley’s nipples, and give a firm pinch. Radley keeps her hands above her head and chases after Ruiz’s mouth when she pulls back slightly.

‘Pasiphae fucked the bull, yes, inside the wooden cow frame,’ and Ruiz pulls one of Radley’s legs over her hip, grinding their cunts together with a slow roll. Radley gives a high, needy moan at the sensation, the friction delicious and  _ slick _ . She looks down at the point where their bodies intersect, the play of moonlight on Ruiz’s abdominal muscles fascinating, and huffs an  _ oh _ sound of wonder.

Ruiz pinches at her nipple again, still bracing the other hand high on Radley’s thigh and rocking their bodies into one another. ‘And Pasiphae was punished for her bestial longings,’ she pants, ‘and was cursed to bear a--a monster--oh,  _ fuck _ , Lis--with the body of a man and the head of a bull-- _ god _ , you feel so  _ good _ \--’

Radley sits up, grabbing at Ruiz’s hips for stability and pushing their cunts more firmly together, her fingers digging into the firm flesh of Ruiz’s ass. She gasps at the change of angle, the pressure against her clit electrically sweet and lancing, and Ruiz jerks her hips in response. Their mouths meet sloppily, all hot breath and swollen lips and tongues lashing. ‘Fuck,’ Radley says breathlessly, ‘oh, fuck,’ and Ruiz’s hand, still trapped between them, pulls and pinches at Radley’s breast. Radley slides a hand up Ruiz’s back, into her hair, and pulls gently. Ruiz obligingly arches, throat bared, and her hips rock faster and faster, a whine slipping past her teeth. Radley nips at Ruiz’s earlobe. ‘All that power and danger, spread out and up and over her,’ she whispers, and licks her tongue up Ruiz’s neck. ‘I got you, baby,’ and Ruiz cries out, hips jerking erratically and spine going rigid.

Radley gives a stuttering groan as she comes, her cunt pulsing into Ruiz’s, breath skirling down between them, and Ruiz twitches a little as Radley undulates her hips with the aftermath. She presses tiny kisses up the clean line of Ruiz’s throat, hands petting down her back soothingly. Ruiz goes limp as a doll, trusting Radley not to let her drop, and smiles up at the stars.

* * *

 

The next day Radley has a cramp in her side and a definite bruise on her hipbone but says nothing in complaint. As they gather their things to make the trek back to the Prydwen Radley hands the book she’d taken from the school to Ruiz. It’s a burnt orange in colour, with a stain on the back cover, but it’s in as good a shape as Radley had hoped.

‘What’s this?’ Ruiz peers at the spine, then smiles brilliantly.  ‘Holy  _ shit _ , you’re kidding!’ She flips to the copyright page and reads. ‘A second edition? From the  _ twentieth century _ ?!’ She gives a little shriek and flings herself at Radley, peppering her forehead with kisses. ‘Thank you thank you thank you!’

_ Bulfinch’s Mythology _ presses between them, the edge hard enough to leave another bruise on Radley, but she doesn’t care. She only laughs and kisses Ruiz in return and wishes they could stay out longer, wishes she could have Ruiz’s stories every night, open under the stars.

**Author's Note:**

> for stitch, who is the girls' parent;  
> for moj, who likes stargazing;  
> for beetle and bun, who like the girls  
> <3


End file.
